


The Road to Hell

by angelskuuipo



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Character Study, GFY, Gen, Post-Avengers: Age of Ultron (Movie)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-07
Updated: 2015-05-07
Packaged: 2018-03-29 09:45:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 436
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3891694
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angelskuuipo/pseuds/angelskuuipo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Good Intentions.  The road to Hell was paved with them.  He’d had the best of them, but that wasn’t an excuse.  Someone needed to answer for what happened and that’s exactly what Tony Stark was going to do.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Road to Hell

**Author's Note:**

  * For [dragonydreams](https://archiveofourown.org/users/dragonydreams/gifts).



> Disclaimer: The characters are not mine; never have been, never will be…damn it. The story, however, is.
> 
> I blame Dragonydreams for this. She posed the question of accountability for the events in Sokovia and…yeah, this happened. Big thanks to her for the beta as well.
> 
> Written: May 6, 2015  
> Word Count: 433

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Clint and Natasha talked about having red in their ledger.

Tony was pretty sure he had them beat.

He was indirectly responsible for the death of, well, let’s not sugarcoat it kids. He was indirectly responsible for the death of millions of people thanks to his weapons designs. Not only were they used for their intended purpose, but they were hot commodities on the black market as well.

He was directly responsible for the death of hundreds, by his own hands in trying to clean up Obie’s mess, and now…Ultron’s.

And yet, other than that low-life, Hydra-loving stooge Stern, no one has ever called him on it. No one has demanded he be held accountable for his actions.

The weapons thing he got. He was necessary and he had made a very public effort to get his weapons out of enemy hands. This whole Ultron clusterfuck, though…

He’d had the best of intentions, but the old saw was true: the road to Hell was paved with them. Maybe someday he’d learn that bigger wasn’t always better, but who was he kidding? He’d changed a lot since Afghanistan, but some parts of him were as they’d ever be.

Go big or go home; one of the many phrases that could eventually wind up gracing his headstone. 

He was doing what he could for Sokovia. His various foundations were hard at work helping the citizens rebuild. But…it wasn’t enough.

Pepper would kill him if she ever found out he was the one who’d sent the anonymous query that started this ball rolling, and Fury would probably help, but this was something he felt in his soul he needed to do. If no one else was going to call him out, then he’d do it himself.

He wasn’t just going to lie down and be a sacrificial lamb, though. He had a defense strategy, and it was a good one, but he needed to face this head-on instead of just throwing money at the problem.

It wouldn’t wipe out any of the red, but he hoped it would bring him some measure of peace. Maybe he had grown as a person, because just ten years ago the thought of being held accountable for his actions would have never even crossed his mind.

“Mr. Stark?”

Tony looked up from the tablet in his hands at met the bailiff’s eyes.

“They’re ready for you.”

Tony stood and smoothed down his tie. He entered the main courtroom of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, as prepared as he could be for the fight of his life.

Show time.

-30-


End file.
